Preview: New Zealand v England, 1st T20I

The return of Ross Taylor and how he gets along with coach Mike Hesson and the rest of the players will be the main talking point as New Zealand take on England in a series of three Twenty20 Internationals. For the touring England side, who are placed fourth in the T20I rankings, this series provides them an oppportunity to move up a couple of places.

New Zealand: While the Taylor-Hesson relationship might be a work in progress, as mentioned by the former Kiwi skipper, what will be important for the hosts is for this issue to take the back seat and the sole focus to remain on what is done in the field of action. The Kiwis do not have to go anywhere to see how strained relations can hurt a side - their opponents England lost their No.1 footing in Test cricket just some months back against South Africa, and the KP saga had a huge bearing on the end result of that series. The Kiwis themselves will be aware how much they missed Ross Taylor in South Africa and they will be hoping that his return provides the much-needed boost for the home team.

Martin Guptill, who scored a fine ton in the 2nd T20I against the Proteas, will have a vital role to play up the order, as will Brendon McCullum, who'll be looking to make amends for a string of poor shows in the recent times. The presence of allrounders like James Franklin and Jimmy Neesham, who is likely to replace the injured Grant Elliott, lends depth to the batting line-up. New Zealand can also include southpaw Hamish Rutherford, son of former captain Ken, who has been handed his maiden international call-up. The left handed pair of Trent Boult and Mitchell McClenaghan - who came up with a good showing in South Africa - make up the New Zealand pace attack along with the allrounders Franklin and Neesham. The Kiwis also have the option of going in with Colin Munro and Andrew Ellis. As far as spin options are concerned, New Zealand have Nathan McCullum and Ronnie Hira manning the department. It is, overall, a pretty balanced squad and the hosts will be expecting a solid performance from each of the members as they hope to start their summer on a winning nore.

England: Not too long ago, England held the number one ranking in the shortest format of the game but inconsistent performances saw the side from the United Kingdom slip in the ratings. England may not be able to go past Sri Lanka, who are currently at the top position, even if they win all three T20Is against New Zealand, but they can go up to the second spot and reduce the gap seperating them with the top ranked side. This series also gives England's lesser experienced players another opportunity to showcase their skills.

Coming to England's batting line-up, they have Michael Lumb and Alex Hales at the top of the order, followed by Luke Wright at Number three. While Lumb and Wright have been in good touch with the bat, having batted well in the tour games, Hales has had a couple of failures. England's middle order consists of Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow. Morgan came good in the tour matches and he will be a key member in the middle order while Buttler will be oozing with confidence after back to back fifties in the practice matches. Joe Root, whose immense talent was on display in India recently, is also an option England could go in with. The bowling line-up is a good one in the hands of capable pacers like Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker as well as the skipper Stuart Broad, who will be pumped up after picking up back to back three wicket hauls, including a hat-trick. James Tredwell and Samit Patel are the spinners in the line-up. If England opt for only one spinner, which they would in all likelihood, Tredwell is the most likely of the two to play.

Head to Head: England have played a total of 6 Twenty20 Internationals against New Zealand so far and have won 5 games while losing just once.

Quotes:

The relationship's a work in progress, but I've got friends in the team and I'm looking forward to playing for them, and obviously playing for management and the country as well: Ross Taylor

We know New Zealand are a dangerous team in T20 and I imagine it will be a feisty contest, like we always have with them. Both teams will be going hell for leather to win: Stuart Broad